A book to excite children about animal life and reassure them of the lasting love from elders.
A mother giraffe gently instructs her child in the proper techniques for adapting to her grassland environment.
She teaches the baby giraffe to become aware of other animals, both friends and foes, and how to drink from a creek. She tells her baby about fire, both its dangers and its positive qualities. The baby giraffe complains when an oxpecker (a bird that often has a symbiotic relationship with giraffes) lands on her back, saying “But it hurts!” The mother soothingly answers: “As you grow older, your coat will get thicker and this will be just a tickle. Until then, you’re strong with me.” This phrase serves as a refrain throughout the book, just as similar comforting phrases were woven into the partnering author and illustrator’s previous books You’re Safe With Me and You’re Snug With Me (both 2018). Soundar and Mistry create an entirely original work here, shifting to a different world region and finding just enough danger and new experiences for a baby animal to encounter, with a mother always nearby to make sure her little one carefully learns what she needs to in order to feel secure as she grows up. Many shades of brown and gold evoke the hot African grasslands where these giraffes roam. The highly stylized illustrations are spectacular, full of repeating triangle and diamond shapes that are reminiscent of African textiles from various countries.
A book to excite children about animal life and reassure them of the lasting love from elders. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-911373-75-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Lantana
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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